The girlfriend of Oscar Pistorius sent him a text saying ‘I’m scared of you sometimes’, three weeks before he shot her dead at his home, a court heard.

Reeva Steenkamp told the Paralympian she was frightened of ‘how you snap at me’, in one of a series of text exchanges on January 27 last year.

She also suggested the ‘blade runner’ was cheating on her while accusing her of being unfaithful.

‘I was not flirting with anyone today, I feel sick that you suggested that,’ she said, adding: ‘We are living in a double-standard relationship. Every five seconds I hear you dated another chick.’

Thousands of texts were retrieved from Ms Steenkamp’s phone after she was killed on Valentine’s day by Pistorius at his home in Pretoria. He denies murder and claims he mistook her for a burglar. Captain Francois Moller told the court in Pretoria 90 per cent of exchanges between the couple were ‘loving’ and they called each other ‘Angel’ and ‘Baba’.

However, the exceptions to the norm hinted at trouble. On February 8, Ms Steenkamp, 29, texted: ‘I can’t be attacked by outsiders for dating you and be attacked by you – the one person I deserve protection from.’

After Pistorius allegedly fired a gun in a restaurant on January 11 and let friend Darren Fresco take the blame, he told her: ‘Don’t say a thing to anyone. Darren told everyone it was his fault. I can’t afford for that to come out.’ The trial continues.